Minutes - Council Work Session - 09/10/2019

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changes could still be made prior to the regular meeting to move an item from consent to the regular agenda. City Administrator Ulrich confirmed that requests could be received after that deadline; it simply would not be reflected on the agenda. Councilmember Musgrove stated that other groups that she is a part of distributes their minutes earlier, which allows quicker review by the members. She asked if the minutes could be distributed earlier for the Council meetings. City Clerk Thieling stated that staff receives the minutes the morning following the meeting, but the practice of staff has been to distribute the minutes with the next meeting packet. She noted that should staff agree the minutes could be distributed earlier for review purposes. City Administrator Ulrich stated that it is nice to know about technical changes, which can be checked and implemented,but for staff to rewrite the narrative is difficult and unworkable. Councilmember Heinrich appreciated that while that can be difficult, if the summary does not summarize a portion of the meeting, she would have concerns. She provided an example of a recent meeting where she did not feel the summary captured the dialogue. She stated that overall the summary minutes have been fine but there have been a few things that have not been to her liking as she did not feel the complete picture was captured. City Administrator Ulrich stated that minutes can be changed and if there is a change to the summary narrative,that change would be brought forward to the full Council for discussion. City Attorney Langel stated that State law does not provide much guidance in terms of what must be included in the minutes. He stated that beyond the basic requirements, it is up to the City as to the level of detail that must be included. He stated that from his experience the level of detail is as much, if not more than, other cities. He explained that if too much detail is provided in the "he said/she said" you reach more of a transcript level. He cautioned against getting overly detailed in the minutes, noting that someone wanting additional detail can watch the video. He explained that the more detail that is put into minutes, the more people deny what/how was said and the character of the discussion. He stated that the current level of minutes is fine, and he would not recommend additional detail. He stated that the City Code contains a provision that states any Councilmember has the right to express decent of any action, using the example of a Councilmember stating, I would like the minutes to show I am opposed to this action for the following reasons. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he would be opposed to increasing the level of detail and cost to the minutes, noting that someone wanting additional detail can review the tapes. Councilmember Riley asked to move to the public input portion of the case. He read language from the Charter that states the Council shall not place restrictions on citizen comments and questions. He stated that if people are at a meeting to talk, they should be allowed to talk and asked for input from the Council. City Council Work Session/September 10,2019 Page 6 of 9